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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 12, 2014)
Arts & Entertainment ‘Museum Of unCut Funk’ Brings Saturday Morning Cartoon Retrospective ‘Movies in Black and White’ T he Museum Of UnCut Funk, a virtual space that pays homage to 1970’s Black Culture and the icons that made this decade so special, is celebrating Saturday morning cartoons from the 70s. “Funky Turns 40: Black Character Revolution Exhibi- tion,” is the museum’s national touring show that commemorates the 40th anniversaries of 1970’s Saturday morning cartoons that featured positive Black characters for the first time in television history. The exhibit opens at the Northwest African American Museum on Nov. 22, and will be on display there until May 3, 2015. The exhibition just completed its run at the DuS- able Museum in Chicago. Practically every piece of art represents a historical first The Funky Turns 40: Black Character Revolution Exhibi- tion includes 60 pieces of animation art from the Museum Of UnCut Funk collection, one of the world’s most unique and extensive collections of original animation production cels – celluloid sheets that the original art was created on — and drawings from 1970’s Saturday morning cartoons that feature Black characters. The original production art in the exhibition were actually used under the camera to produce these cartoons. The hand drawn and inked cels used in the animation production process of the 1970’s represent a lost art form compared to today’s digitally created cartoons. The virtual museum also features an extensive collection of 1970’s black culture artifacts, which include animation art, Broadway window cards, coins, comic books, movie posters and stamps that incorporate black images. PHOTO COURTESY HOLLYWOOD THEATRE Of The Skanner News ‘Movies in Black and White’ is back this month at the Hollywood theatre in Northeast Portland, with a screening of the classic ‘Rocky III,’ starring Sylvester Stallone and Mr. t., Saturday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. the film will be followed by a panel discussion about race in cinema with panelists including filmmaker/writer/director of the Portland Black Film Festival David Walker and writer/comedian Anthony Lopez ("Late Night Action," "Strong Opinions," and a finalist in the most recent Portland's Funniest Person contest). the panel will be moderated by Jason Lamb. this month, the discussion will focus on the representation of black masculinity in the film, as well as ROCkY's parallels to race politics and ideals throughout the history of boxing and athletics. For more information go to www.hollywoodtheatre.org. The Funky Turns 40: Black Character Revolution Exhibi- tion is a fun, colorful, nostalgic experience that is culturally and historically relevant for the Black community but also appeals to a broader audience. Back in the 1970’s, before the explosion of cable TV channels, everybody watched the same cartoons. Since then, many of these cartoons have re- aired on cable networks reaching new generations of children. What makes the Funky Turns 40: Black Character Revo- lution Exhibition unique is both the breadth of the artwork and the historically important story that it tells. Practically every piece of art represents a historical first, such as Peter Jones - The Hardy Boys (1969); Valerie Brown - Josie And The Pussy Cats (1970); the Harlem Glo- betrotters (1970) - First positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series and the first featuring Black ath- letes. For more information go to www.museumofuncutfunk.com, or www.naamnw.org. Read the rest of this story online at www.theskanner.com November 12, 2014 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 7
